SEPTEMBER 21-22, 2024
Generous cut-offs, unending trail beauty, rockin' aid station and sweet swag... Join us at Wawayanda State Park in Hewitt, NJ on Saturday September 21 and Sunday September 22, 2024 for the Wild Goose! We have distances for everyone so keep on reading to learn more. Please check out the Runners Handbook for all of the deets! We are supporting our non-profit partner, Bigger Than The Trail with this Trail Party!
TRAIL PARTY DETAILS
WILD GOOSE
The 36 hour cutoff for our Wild Goose 100 miler make this a squatchtastic event for those chasing after their first buckle. We have several events running on Saturday and Sunday, camping at the beach plus local vendors to make this a true Trail Festival! Please check out the Runners Handbook for all of the deets!
CHARITY PARTNER
We are proud to partner with Bigger Than The Trail (BTTT). BTTT is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization that is using trail running as a platform to advocate for mental health. BTTT's mission is to enrich the lives of individuals struggling with mental health. Through their fundraising efforts, BTTT provides 3 months of free therapy to those in need! Please consider making a donation to BTTT when you register for this squatchy trail party.
REGISTRATION
Kids 1M Run - Free
10K - $40
Half Marathon - 65
50K - $80
50M - $95
100K - $120
100 Miler - $240
36H - $240
WHAT'S INCLUDED?
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Bib & safety pins
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Swag item
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Handcrafted Finishers' Medal
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Handcrafted buckles for folks who finish the 100K or 100 miles
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Aid Stations with water, Skratch, snacks and hot food
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Medic (EMT/Wilderness First Responder) the entire event + and Ambulance on-site overnight
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Awards for top 3 male, female and non-binary
**We cannot have any runners/hikers/volunteers out on the course after 7pm on Sunday. So please note that the Trail Party Director and the Squatchy Council reserves the right to pull participants if it is determined they will be unable to complete their final loop before 7pm on Sunday.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
The Wild Goose course has a little bit of everything - mellow doublewide trails, rolling singletracks, boardwalks and a bit of road. Here is the feedback we hear from runners who have gone on the course–if you live in Northern NJ or the Hudson Valley area, these trails are very mellow, not technical and relatively flat. For folks coming from NYC, Long Island, Brooklyn etc these trails would be considered moderate and much more technical than city-trails and rail trails. So in the context of the northern highlands of NJ - the Squatchayanda trails are mellow, rolling and not very technical. For anyone not used to running in the Jersey Highlands or Hudson Valley, you’ll likely find these trails to be more challenging than a tow path. There is an average of around 112 ft elevation gain per mile.
The course is made up of three different loops: Checkered 4.75M, Blue 6M and Pink 7.75M. Each event will follow a specific sequence of the loops in order to reach their distance. Please refer to our Runners Handbook for the loop order, elevation profiles and maps.
AID STATIONS
The Volunteer Dream Team truly makes the Trail Magic happen at our Aid Stations! Squatch HQ (the Start/Finish at the Lake) - is where the 36 HOUR PARRTTYYY will be! This is the only aid station for the race (no other aid will be on the course). Squatch HQ will be rockin’ from 7am Saturday until 7pm Sunday night! Our Volunteers will be ready to assist you throughout the event. We work hard to have a variety of nutrition and hydration available at our events. We include many gluten-free and vegan options (upon request, we have separate cookware available to make hot vegan options on our stove). Check out the menu items below; if you don’t see something that you think would make a great addition to our aid stations, drop us a note and we’ll see what we can do!
Beverages: water, Skratch, Coke, Flât Coke, Coffee
Fruit: bananas, clementines, watermelon
Snacks: Chewy granola bars, GF Black Forest fruit snacks, bite size chocolate/candy, GF potato chips, GF tortilla chips, GF Oreos
Cold Food: GF rice cakes, pickles, peanut butter, jelly
Hot Food: pieroies, bacon, burgers, vegan veggie burgers, quesadillas (GF corn tortillas), Vegan veggie broth, salted potatoes
We want to give a big squatchtastic thank you to our friends at Skratch Labs! Skratch has been sponsoring our Trail Parties since 2022 and has stocked our aid station with their incredible hydration products. On top of that, Skratch has extended a 20% discount to all Sassquaders (just use the code SASSQUAD during online checkout). We’ll have Skratch Hydration at Squatch HQ for the duration of the event!
COURSE MARKINGS
The course will be well-marked with ribbons and large directional arrows + "wrong way" signs. The Checkered Loop will be marked with checkered ribbons, the Blue Loop will be marked with blue ribbons and the Pink Loop will be marked with pink ribbons. All of the markers and signs have reflective tape on them, so when you run at night, your headlamp will illuminate the markers/signs.
VOLUNTEER DREAM TEAM
Our Volunteer Dream Team is what makes all of the Trail Magic happen! Join us as a Volunteer at this trail party as we support our squatchtastic running community. We have many Volunteer opportunities available such as Check-In, Aid Station Crew, Course Sweepers etc. Click here to Volunteer!
PACERS
Wild Goose 100 milers and 36H runners and hikers can have a pacer join them at 12am.
As with all of our events, Squatchers over the age of 60 and AWD (athletes with disabilities) can have a pacer/guide at any time. Please pre-register your pacer here.
You can have multiple pacers on your team, but only one pacer with you at a time. Pacers need to pre-register with us (no charge) and wear a pacing bib while on the course. We welcome pacers to help themselves at the aid station but request that Crew bring their own supplies. Remember, pacers cannot mule for their runners. Pacers must start and finish at Squatch HQ. You cannot drop your pacer. You cannot switch pacers in the middle of a loop
CREW
All runners/hikers can have a Crew join them at the Trail Party for the duration of the event. Crew access is only available at Squatch HQ. Crew cannot aid their runner/hiker at any other spot on the course. Crews are encouraged to bring ice if they anticipate their runner/hiker needing ice during the event.
Crew are welcome to set up their own pop-up tents at Squatch HQ in the designated areas. All tents and canopies MUST be staked/weighted down (they will fly away if they aren't staked down). Please do not park illegally.
The park collects a $5 parking fee per vehicle. Please have exact change in cash or use venmo to pay for this during check-in.
CAMPING/LODGING
Wawayanda State Park is allowing camping throughout the duration of our event. Runners/hikers/volunteers/families can tent camp on the grass field in front of the Beach on Friday September 20 and Saturday September 21. This area will not be available for camping on Sunday September 22. Wawayanda State Park offers a limited number of campsites a mile away from the Start/Finish area; these sites must be reserved ahead of time via the online reservation system.
There are no shower facilities at Wawayanda.
The closest Hotel Chains are located in Mahwah, NJ - about 40 minutes from Wawayanda State Park.
There are AirBnB options in Vernon, NJ and Warwick, NY - about 20-30 minutes from Wawayanda State Park
VOLUNTEER REQUIREMENT
All 100 milers and 36 hour participants are required to complete 8 hours of trail work or trail race volunteering in 2024.
Volunteering must be completed before our Trail Party on September 21, 2024.
Please use this google form to submit your volunteer hours.
What counts as Volunteering?
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Trail maintanence or trail building with any trail organization. Please include the email/phone number of the organizer/supervisor you volunteered with. This is a great resource to find a group to connect with.
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Picking up trash while hiking or trail running.
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Trail race volunteering at a trail race. You can do your Volunteer hours at any race.
If you are unable to complete the volunteer hours, you can make a donation to our Charity Partner Bigger Than The Trail for $100. You can use this link to make the $100 donation to Bigger Than The Trail if you choose to not complete the volunteer hours.
GETTING TO THE RACE
Okay, here’s where you really need to read the fine print and pay attention. The address to the main entrance is 885 Warwick Turnpike, Hewitt, NJ. This will bring you to the entrance on Warwick Turnpike, where the park office is located. This entrance will always be open. This is the only way you can enter the park before 10am and after 6pm on Saturday and Sunday. PLEASE look at your phone GPS to make sure it is taking you to this entrance and not the Auxiliary Entrance. If you are unsure, you can also plug in the "Warwick Drive-In Theater" to make sure you get on Warwick Turnpike. The park entrance is a few miles from the Theater.
The Auxiliary Entrance is located at 120 Wawayanda Road, Highland Lakes, NJ. This entrance is ONLY open from 10am-6pm on Saturday and Sunday (the gate is not open during the week). When you enter the park through the main entrance on Warwick Turnpike, follow signs to Wawayanda Lake/The Beach. It will take about 5 minutes to get there from the entrance on Warwick Turnpike.
If you enter the park through the Auxiliary Entrance (remember, that’s only open from 10am-6pm on Saturday and Sunday), continue straight through the gate and then make your first right, following the signs to Wawayanda Lake/The Beach.
The park charges a $5 parking fee per vehicle. Please have exact change or pay via Venmo.
FAQS
CAN I HAVE A PACER?
Wild Goose 100 milers and 36 Hour runners/hikers can have a pacer with them starting at mile 63 or 12am on Sunday (whichever comes first). You can have multiple pacers on your team, but only one pacer with you at a time. Pacers need to pre-register with us (no charge) and wear a pacing bib while on the course. We welcome pacers to help themselves at the aid station but request that Crew bring their own supplies. Remember, pacers cannot mule for their runners. Pacers must start and finish at Squatch HQ. You cannot drop your pacer. You cannot switch pacers in the middle of a loop. As with all of our events, Squatchers over the age of 60 and AWD (athletes with disabilities) can have a pacer at any time.
CAN I BRING MY DOG?
NO. Our insurance policy does not cover dogs at our races. Thanks for understanding.
WHAT IS THE VOLUNTEER REQUIREMENT?
Please fill out this form prior to arriving at the Squatchayanda Trail Festival on 9/23-24, 2023. All 100 mile, 36 hour and 24 hour participants are required to complete 8 hours of trail work or trail race volunteering. All 50 miler and 12 hour participants are required to complete 4 hours of trail work or trail race volunteering. Volunteering must be completed before our Trail Party on September 23, 2023. Please use this google form to submit your volunteer hours.
WILL THERE BE AN AID STATION?
YES! Our main aid station will have a wide variety of traditional ultra running food, as well as many vegan and gluten-free items. You are more than welcome to bring your own food/water and setup your own aid station in the parking lot and access it each time you come to the Squatch HQ.
CAN I HAVE A CREW?
All runners/hikers can have a Crew join them at the Trail Party for the duration of the event. Crew access is only available at Squatch HQ. Crew cannot aid their runner/hiker at any other spot on the course. Crews are encouraged to bring ice if they anticipate their runner/hiker needing ice during the event. Crew are welcome to set up their own pop-up tents at Squatch HQ.
ANY POWER OUTLETS AVAILABLE?
There are no power outlets at Wawayanda State Park other than the one at Squatch HQ that we will be using to power our Aid Station. We encourage all runners/hikers to pack their own charging supply such as an external battery pack.
WHAT IS THE WEATHER LIKE?
WILL I SEE SASQUATCH?
We sure hope you do! Make sure you take a selfie with him if you see Squatchy out there! There are bugs and there are black bears.
Hopefully we are going to have a nice fall day! But, it could be cold. Maybe. It could be warm. Check the weather before the race and dress appropriately. The zip code for the race is 07421.
WILL THE COURSE BE MARKED?
The course will be well-marked with ribbons and large directional arrows + "wrong way" signs.
WHAT ADDRESS SHOULD I USE TO GET TO THE PARK?
885 Warwick Turnpike, Hewitt-NJ
CAN I REGISTER MY KIDS FOR THIS RACE?
YES! We love having families join us. If you are registering 3 or more squatches, please email us for a discount code! trailpartydirector@sassquadtrailrunning.com
ME AND MY FRIEND AREN'T REGISTERED FOR THE RACE, BUT WE'RE STILL PLANNING ON COMING TO RUN. WE WON'T EAT FROM THE AID STATION OR TAKE A MEDAL OR SWAG. THIS IS OKAY, RIGHT?
ARE THERE ANY RESTROOMS?
YES, there are real restrooms at the start/finish area. There are changing stalls in these restrooms. These are the only restroom facilities on the course.
CAN I GET A REFUND?
Like many other race organizations, we do not offer refunds for our events. Please take the time to double check your calendar before registering for a Trail Party. Please understand that we do not offer refunds under any circumstances. If you notify us via email (not through social media, text or phone call) more than 45 days from the date of the Trail Party, we will extend a deferral to any of our events that fall within one calendar year of the Trail Party that you were registered for. If you sustain an injury less than 45 days from the race date, we will extend a deferral if you come to that race to volunteer for at least 4 hours. The race credit is the amount that you paid for the race (not including UltraSignUp fees) so you will need to cover any difference in fees; refunds will not be issued if the deferred event costs less than your race credit. You can only defer one time so please doublecheck that you can make the race you're deferring to.
NO THIS IS NOT OKAY. This is called being a "race bandit" and it is stealing. Not paying for a race and running the race is stealing from the race organization (even if you're not taking food or swag). Don't do this at a Sassquad trail party or ANY other race. It's not okay. And if you hear about someone else doing this, call them out. If you bandit a race, you will be banned from registering for any of our Sassquad events.